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New Zealand with family
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  • Georg Hellmann

New Zealand with family

One more time to discover familiar and unfamiliar places and people with my parents and my best friend Lukas. Read more
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    🇳🇿 Nelson City, Neuseeland
    Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler

    Sandfly attack

    Today in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Buller River: We drove up the buller river valley with some gorge like sections. A beautiful scenic road but we had an annoying driver really close behind us.

    Rotoroa: The Nelson Lake National Park is a beautiful area with lakes in an amazing mountain setting. The downside of the lake is sandfly paradise. We tried to have lunch near the lake but I couldn't sit still for a second.

    Bird on rock: A 4.7 star rating on google...sounds quite nice. Pictures are showing a humanmade flat stone structure in the water (only at hightide). There is a highway between this "historic mound Bird on Rock" and the pedestrian walk. There was no bird on Rock and there are so many places in Nelson, where you can enjoy the landscape with native plants around you. There was even a natural rock on the way to this place, which was more beautiful...    Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler

    Pancake rocks

    December 6 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    We were waiting at a road work traffic light with 3 cars in front of us. Minutes before I let them overtake me one by one, because they seemed to be in a hurry. Well, I caught up to them and Lukas and I joked about overtaking them again, after the other cars are past us and before the traffic light turns green. On the way back we were the first in line from the other side and right before the traffic light turned green someone drove past us from our side, ignoring the red light and the other cars in front. We couldn't believe that someone would actually do, what we were joking about.

    Pancake Rocks: Fascinating limestone formations with waves crashing into the cliff with thunder noise. Blowholes washed out by the waves create a salty steam right before hightide. Wekas crossing the tracks and seagulls nesting on the sheltered spots.

    Pororari River Track: Just learned about it the day before. An amazing river valley found its way to the tasman sea. A subtropical forest with cliffs on both sides. A breathtaking short walk for all people.

    Cape Foulwind: The biggest seal colony on the west coast. A beautiful cliff coast and a nice lookout with seals hiding between the rocks. Even the rock might be a seal. Also called "rock sausage" by some locals.    Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler

    Hokitika and Arthurs Pass

    December 5 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Kaniere Lake: a beautiful lake embeded in small forest mountains. We walked a short Kahikatea Trail, which is the tallest species in NZ. A stream running along side the path before it ventures of in the middle and at the end a swamp, before reaching the lake again.

    Hokitika Gorge: a gorgeous gorge with glacier coloured turquoise water with more suspension bridges than on the suspension bridge walk. We had nice chats with two kiwi women and right after with two spanish women.

    Arthurs Pass / Devils Punchbowl: while it was dry but cloudy at the west coast, further in the mountains the rain started. We saw the Devils Punchbowl and walked up until the endless stairs begann. I ran to the viewing platform at the base alone and didn't remember those many stairs. It's going further up, to go quite a bit down before the last stairs up to the base. On the way back we stopped at the Otira Aquaduct, which is a long bridge in a narrow valley. It's an impressive construction, but the weather was unplessant. On the way back we stopped at a glow worm cave spot, but there were no glowworms in daylight.    Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler

    The glacier scenic road

    December 4 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Fox glacier: Instead of walking up the valley, we drove further away to a viewpoint, where we saw the glacier tongue just under the clouds coming down into the valley. This part of the west coast was formed by glaciers a long time ago and now they are disappearing faster and faster.

    Franz Josef Glacier: We followed a nice trail into the valley to a lookout, to see a small part of the glacier underneath the clouds. A picture shows how far it reached down the valley at 1900 and even around 2000 it was still going around the curve but now it's allmost gone.    Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler

    West Coast

    December 3 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Blue Pools: a small hike to a beautiful river mouth with a big blue pool, before it joins the other one. Because of a lot of rain and wind the last days it was milky blue with all the sediments. At other times it is crystal clear. It is a really good place to skip stones as well.

    Waterfalls: We saw some waterfalls while driving and visited some, who where not far from the road. Sometimes its hard to find a parking lot, which are limited, because all stop at the same places.

    Kings Point: A stunning lookout at the west coast and a memorial for bulding the Westland Otago link road.

    Ships Creek: A small brown clear stream, a dune lake and a beautiful beach. A nice place to explore and get to know the flora and fauna and how it was created.    Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler

    Joining my parents again

    December 2 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    The last days Lukas and I travelled without my parents. Trying to find an accommodation for the two of us with a privat room, bathroom and a kitchen is not easy, because the airbnbs are usually for at least 4 people or more. So this night we are actually in neighbouring airbnbs and tomorrow we want to travel together again.

    Arrowtown: An old gold mining town where they made two movie scenes at the arrow river. It's not easy to tell but the river side walk is nice.

    Lake Wanaka: A tourist hotspot with a beautiful landscape and the wanaka tree. A tree 10 meters offshore in the water which got a social media hype years ago. We walked along the shore, skipped some stones and enjoyed the view.

    Lake Hawea: A more quiet lake not far from Wanaka with an even more beautiful surrounding landscape.    Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler
    12

    Milford Sound

    December 1 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    Steep mountains rising out of the sea and creating a stunning landscape. Similar to Norways Fjords the sounds are formed by large glaciers over thousands of years ago. The 2 hour drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound is already an amazing adventure with many different landscapes to discover. Every turn hides something new to discover in this area. We went on a 2 hour boat trip through the sound and enjoyed this rough habitat for many different species. On top of the boat the wind was really strong and once we got to the entrance of the sound the waves moved the boat up and down quite a bit. I am looking forward to see Norway in comparison.Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler

    Resting day

    November 30 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    We drove up to the Remarkable Ski Field. A windy narrow road going steep up the mountain and for the last 3 k it's a gravel road. There we picked up two travellers whose car overheated. We went for a small hike and enjoyed the view. It wasn't that windy but the cold air made the wind icy.

    Before the end of lake Wakatipu I asked Lukas where exactly the fuel station is, which I saw on the fuel map. Well, on google maps there was no fuel station and I got a bit nervous. We had only enough petrol to get to the end of the lake, where the fuel station was supposed to be way cheaper than in Queenstown. Right at the end of the lake we found it next to the road and I was happy to not strand in the middle of nowhere without any fuel.

    We drove to Mossburn, where we booked for two nights and enjoyed lunch there. After a short break we realised, everything is at least 1 hour by car away. So we decided to relax for the rest of the day and play Mario Party.    Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler
    1

    Movie sets scavenger hunt

    November 29 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Pillars of the kings: The Kawarau River gives a really nice scenery in this rocky gorge. You can even bungy jump down from a bridge into the gorge, but that's nothing for me.

    Ithilien: Next to Lake Wakatipu at the Twelve Mile Delta Recreation Reserve we followed a small track for a few minutes to get to the place where Frodo, Sam and Gollum saw the Mûmakils.

    Isengard: We drove past Glenorchy up the valley until we got to the place which was used as the background scenery for Isengard. It was cloudy so we couldn't see it really clearly but it is an impressive landscape.

    Lothlorien: We drove the Paradise road which was rebuilt after heavy rain, but at the first ford we had to stop, because our car wouldn't be able to cross a big hump. There was a movie setting though in the forest nearby and we saw a couple with cossplay equipment preparing themselfs. It is a nice forest walk, but there is no special tree or anything showing the scene.

    Queenstown Gardens: A nice little peninsula with faszinating trees. We watched people playing a different kind of bowling which looks more like Pétanque (Boule) but with a longer flat playground and balls that roll quite far. On the way back we walked the promenade where some people were looking at a rooftop, where you could see a drone and a camera team.    Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler

    Aoraki / Mount Cook

    November 28 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    In the morning we met my parents, so I could help them with the extra data they bought for my fathers phone. For some reason. He didn't get any sms so he didn't even realise, how much he spent already. To top up his prepaid sim he needed to receive an sms code and it took me quite a while to make it work.

    After a short stop at lake Pukaki we drove to the Mt Cook area. We did a small hike to the Kea Point, where we had a stunning view of Mt Cook. For lunch we drove to the tasman glacier, where I remembered a small sheltered hut with tables. While eating my parents walked past us without them knowing we are there. We saw their car next to the road. It was so busy, that there were double the cars or campers compared to the parking lots.    Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler

    What a day!

    November 27 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 21 °C

    We started early to avoid the rain on the gravel road. After 1.5 hours we arrived in Geraldine and stopped for breakfast. At the fuel station I realised my wallet is missing. I started calling places we have been and while driving back I tried to remember where I last had it. We stopped in Mt Somers to check the car again and do some more phone calls but nothing. We waited for another call from the Mt Potts Lodge, where we stayed last night, but at noon, we decided to drive all the way back and check by ourselfs, to be sure before we go to the police. I was getring nervous at that time.

    After driving through a lot of rain we reached the lodge almost in sunshine. I went into the room and checked the bed and the floor and then... on the wardrobe on top between the two extra blankets. I was really relieved. We drove all the way to lake Tekapo, where we enjoyed the scenery. It was really windy and we tried to find a sheltered table, which we kind of failed, but we had a nice table at least. After lunch we started to drive to Twizel, where we wanted to stay. Only a few meters after we left lake Tekapo I told Lukas to stop, because I couldn't find any accomodation available for a reasonable price. We checked different areas, but everything close to Mt cook was fully booked. We thought about skipping it and try doing it on the way back, which would have been a detour aswell.

    I thought of my 2 friends from Christchurch and with my luck one aunt had a cottage only 40 mins away. It was not the right direction, in fact we drove back the same way again to Fairlie, which is quite close to Geraldine, but we were really happy to find something not to far away.    Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler

    Middle Earth vibes

    November 26 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    We started early in the morning driving to Christchurch, where we met two friends of mine. We walked the Te Araroa together and the whole group keeps in touch. I finally got my Schorle glass back, which I forgot last time. I was really happy to see them again and I enjoyed their energy.

    Castle Hill: Driving into the mountains is already an adventure with all the different shapes. We visited an area with huge limestone formations scattered in the valley. Formed underwater long ago and shaped by the weather into smooth rocks. Some rocks reminded me of the Kauri tree bark. A magical place and a paradise for climbers.

    Cave Stream: Further up the road we stopped for another fascinating river that digged its way through the limestone and created a cave, which you can actually climb through. We went to the entrances, but didn't enter, because we didn't have proper equipment and it was a difficult trail with climbing in between.

    Rakaia River: We drove a gravel road to lake Coleridge, which was shining in a bright blue due to the glacier silk. A beautiful landscape going down into the Rakaia Valley. Where I crossed it 2 years ago, it is a 5 km wide river bed, but to cross it by car, we drove further down to the Rakaia gorge, where it is only 100m wide with a strong current. Many people were having a break there and the parking was limited, so we already parked at the edge of the entrance. One off-road vehicle with a long camper had to drive all the way backwards out of there, because there was no place to park or to turn.

    Mt Sunday / Edoras: One of the most beautiful movie set locations in my opinion. This little hill in this wide valley and the tall mountains with snow covered peaks further up looks stunning. Going up was quite tough, because we were blown over by the wind and we could barely stand. We found a half sheltered spot on the top and I could lean into the wind without falling. On the way back we stopped at the Mt Potts Lodge, where it said it was closed, but we drove up the drive way, because we could have booked online. Right when we arrived a woman came back and she told us she can prepare a bunk bed room for us. We were so thankful and appreciated the unexpected accommodation. We had really delicious burgers aswell. We enjoyed the last sunlight near Mt Sunday, which engulfed the valley into a peaceful athmosphere.    Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler
    1

    Seals everywhere

    November 25 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 19 °C

    Driving down the east coast on the South Island the mountains are rising right next to the ocean and it's really hard to concentrate on driving. A beautiful colour of the water with black sand beach and wildlife on the rocky shore line. We were hoping for wales but at least we saw some ships accompanied by dolphins.

    Ohau Point: area with a colony of about 2000 seals. Playing or laying on the rocks next to the road enjoying the sun.

    Kairua Peninsula: a small cliff with a rocky but almost flat shore. First we walked up the cliff and enjoyed lunch with a beautiful view and then we went down to the shore, where we saw more seals, seagulls and even a few penguins.    Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler

    Lets go to the South Island

    November 24 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    We didn't book the ferry tickets in advance and we were lucky to find a spot for all of us, though really expensive. The next days were all sold out, so we took the ferry a day earlier than expected.

    Rivendell: the movie set was removed except for an archway and there are a few information signs around, showing how it looked like, but it's not that easy to imagine it without all the structures. It is still a nice place in the dense forest mountains. We walked a suspension bridge trail but there were no more except for the one before the start.

    The Gardens of Isengard: A nice park where you can imagine Gandalf and Saruman walking next to each other. In the end it is a huge lawn with quite a few trees. It's a nice place to rest, but nothing special for a movie set.

    Ferry Crossing: We were really tired after a rough night, but on the ferry there was no room to rest and outside was to windy. The view of the North Island in the beginning and later of the South Island was amazing. An hour before we arrived we saw a tiny humpback whale jumping out of the water.    Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler

    East to west coast

    November 23 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Whakarewarewa Thermal Village: We did a guided tour through a maori thermal village, where they still use tradional ways of the thermal area with hot pools for cooking and bathing. An interesting way of living with this thermal activity. Quite dangerous but also very helpful.

    Mt Ngauruhoe/ Mt Doom: First time passing it, we didn't see the vulcano at all but this time it presented itself with all its mighty. A dark steep mountain rising above the land and cut off at the top, where a crater forms the peak. A calm athmosphere with a hidden but present energy/force looming inside the mountain.    Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler

    Visiting relatives

    November 22 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    We were visiting relatives from my mothers side where their great grandfathers were brothers. We went for a bushwalk through a native forest slowly recovering from non native animals like deers, possums, pigs and others.

    The son in law came with his 3 children and my father had a lot fun playing with them. We had a really nice time chatting about our ancestors and stories about people I never heard of.    Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler

    Thermal Wonderland

    November 21 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Huka Falls: it's not a high waterfall, but the 100m wide river is forced through a 15 m wide rock chanel which drops 8m over a distance of 100m creating a strong current and then drop down another 6m in the end with a waterflow of about 220 000 liter per secound.

    Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland: The smell of sulfur is everywhere. Yellow and green coloured crater walls, bubbling water and steaming pools. One of the highlights the champagne pool, which was formed by a vulcano with a spring running into it, creating a 60m deep pool where small bubbles come up and steam rises continuesly. Another pool fed by the champagne pool with highly acidig water has a bright yellow and green colour.

    Mudpool: Not far from the Thermal Wonderland there is a small area where gases and steam come out of a mudpool creating small eruptions. I could stand there for hours watching the mud.    Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler

    Tongariro National Park

    November 20 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Gollums Pool / Tawhai Falls: A movie set from the Lord of the Rings, which was edited so much, that you can barely recognise it. Still a beautiful waterfall and a nice walk.

    Mount Ruapehu: The tallest mountain/vulcano on the North Island with over 2700m always snow covered. We drove up to 1600m enjoying the view, but Mt Ngauruhoe and Mt Tongariro were hidden in the clouds. There was a fire recently in this area and they blocked the road to get closer to the other mountains.

    Lake Taupo: The biggest lake in NZ formed by a huge collapsed vulcano a long time ago. We had lunch next to it and saw some black swans. Really nice area to go kayaking, but we were quite exhausted after a the long day before.    Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler
    1

    Highlight after highlight

    November 19 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 20 °C

    Hamilton Gardens: a huge garden area divided into small theme gardens. Starting with a japanese garden, we went through the classic garden typs from different cultures and eras. Followed by some more practical gardens like a herb garden or a kitchen garden. The last gardens were more fantasy like, with surrealism, egyptian, tudor and a tropical garden in a non tropical region. The best thing, I went in for free. But even for 20 NZ dollar (10 €) it's so worth it.

    Hot Water Beach Kawhia: A beautiful black sand beach with a hot spring right underneath. We went close to the water edge where the steam was coming from and startet to dig a hole. Warm water was coming from below and after a while the hole was big enough to lay in it. At some spots it was really hot. In between we jumped into the cold tasman sea and then back into the hot tub. After a while I built a tower and a big wall for protection against the rising tide. Though it took quit a long time for the first wave to rouch the outer wall. In the end I only saw the first wall breached, but we wanted to continue, because we still had a long way to drive.

    Timber Trail / Ongarue Spiral: a part of the Te Araroa, I did 2 years ago, where you can see thousands of glowworms for free. Only a bit of walking is necessary and best at night. We parked as close as possible 2,5 km away and had to go through a closed gate, which is quite easy. On the way up to the spiral we still had daylight, but once we got there it was already really dark and the high walls before the tunnel were already shining with hundreds of glowworms. Entering the tunnel it looked like a clear night sky. It's not easy to take a picture with the phone cameras, but the athmosphere is mystical. On the whole way back I saw blue lights in the steep mountain side like eyes watching us.    Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler

    Taking it slow today

    November 18 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 22 °C

    Stanmore Bay: going for a morning walk up and down the beach while the waves continuesly crash onto the shore.

    Mount Eden: a beautiful view of the Auckland skyline and harbour aswell as the urban area around. A lot of tourist buses with groups from different countries.Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler

    Are we to late for Hobbiton?

    November 17 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 20 °C

    Today in the afternoon Lukas checked online for the guided tours and realised for the next week every day is fully booked. We got a bit nervous, because this was one of the main reasons to come. Because of limited connection, we wanted to check in the evening again and maybe call someone. Lukas looked for the days, before we take the flight and there he found an available tome slot, which he booked immediately. I asked my parents if they wanted to join, but decided not to. Because we took to much time, the booking process was canceled and Lukas had to do it again. In the end he somehow booked for 3 people, even though I saw him entering 2. To tired to fix it today we will fix it the next day.

    Whangarei Quarry Gardens: a beautiful maintained garden in an old quarry with a small lake and waterfall.

    Hundertwasser Art Center: an interesting artist / architekt, trying to break up the sharp edges and corners of a usual building and forming a more fluent texture.

    Waipu Caves: a beautiful glowworm cave with a stream running deep into the mountain. Got my shoes wet, but enjoyed following as far as possible.    Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler

    Kauri everywhere

    November 16 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Rawene Mangrove Boardwalk: a beautiful little boardwalk through a mangrove forest, where they talk about the time of the timber mill, which was built over this area.

    Tane Mahuta: the largest kauri tree in New Zealand, estimated over 2000 years old. A fascinating giant in the forest, which depends on the others to withstand strong winds. A sureal

    Te Matua Ngahere: the oldest kauri tree, around 3500 years old. Not as tall but a bigger stem, which looks astonishing. A beautiful walk to get there with many younger kauri trees lining the path.    Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler

    Bathing in the Pacific

    November 15 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Lukas and I were starting the day with a stop at the Remarkable Café in Mangonui enjoying a mochaccino.

    Omiru Trig Path: following a narrow path on top of a headland, a lot of stairs combined with strong winds make it extra challenging, great view of the bay and cliffs.

    Matauri Bay: a beautiful long beach limited by cliffs on both sides, we played in the waves and enjoyed the sun.

    Rainbow Falls Kerikeri: huge waterfall with a frightening force but also stunning. We followed the stream further down through a diverse forest with some Kauri trees.    Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler

    Where the spirits leave NZ

    November 14 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 20 °C

    Cape Reinga: walking to the lighthouse with a great view of the cliffs, while a strong wind built up the waves

    Giant Sand Dunes: walking up a dune for half an hour to run it down in 5 minutes, a dessert like landscape with a subtropical forest and the tasman sea surrounded

    Maitai Bay: a bay, where the waves almost create a perfect half circle and the water is clear light blue

    Lake Rotopokaka: also know as Coca Cola lake, a moor lake with a red and brown colour, I had a half bath in there    Read more

  • Georg HellmannNew Zealand with familyTraveler

    Driving on the left side

    November 13 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The day before we got to know driving on the left side of the road. Worst part was driving through Auckland, where even with navigation it was really confusing. Turning on the windshield wiper instead of the direction indicator is one thing that happened a lot yesterday. At each turn checking on which side to drive on the next road. Crossing a lane on the right turn.

    Highlights:
    My parents got pulled over by the police, driving to slow on the highway, but at least on the right side

    Whangārei Falls: small beautiful loop
    Hundertwasser memorial park: a spontaneous stop in Kawakawa to see this colourful and unusual building design.

    Bay of Islands: drinking a beer in the oldest Pub of New Zealand. A short walk to a beautiful lookout.

    An amazing dinner with my host family I stayed with 2 years ago.    Read more

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